Star Fox: Next Generation
by Woodsballer
Summary: Star Fox and Star Wolf have been captured. Can their children find and rescue them before it's too late? COMPLETE
1. Intro

STAR FOX:

_STAR FOX:_

_NEXT GENERATION_

_By Bradley Snyder_

_Additional Assistance by:_

_Carl Philips_

_Evan Podlaseck_

_Michael Skis_

_Star Fox is a trademark of Nintendo and is not used for personal gain in any way._

**Introduction**

Corneria, fourth planet of the Lylat system, is no more.

Roughly one year after the Apparoid Invasion, General Pepper died of a strange, unknown illness. A new general, a female feline named Scarlet, soon took his place and turned Corneria into one giant city. The planet of Lylat City was born. Scarlet also formed a democracy, putting representatives from each planet into a voting system, much like America's.

Fox and Krystal (much to everyone's exclamation of 'It's about time') have gotten married. Shortly before Pepper died, they had two children, James and Christy McCloud. Fox put James into a training program as soon as he was able to walk, and sent Christy to stay with her "Uncle" Slippy for a while. Consequently, James has become quite a fighter while Christy became both a weapons and ship genius.

Approximately four years after the founding of Lylat City, several planets, for no apparent reason, renounce their place in the Lylat Republic (as it came to be called). This seemed harmless at first, so it went unchecked. But soon, the planets start forcing others to leave the system as well by way of violence or bribery. The General decided that the "Free Planets of Lylat" must be taken down and forced to reenter the voting system.

It has now been ten years since the Apparoid Invasion. The Lylatian Civil Conflict has split whole planets apart, sometimes even physically. The Star Fox team still does its best to keep peace in this time of war, but even Fox knows that he is getting old. Since Peppy's retirement, the team has struggled on even the simplest of missions. Fox is now training his children, James and Christy, to take their place, but he is still skeptical about their readiness.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

**Chapter 1:**

**Getting to know the Kids**

"6 Minutes and 27 seconds. Not good enough! Do it again!"

James was starting to get frustrated. He growled silently as he walked toward the starting gate. He had been at this drill for the past hour and his reddish fur was soaked with sweat. The drill involved running through a holographic obstacle course while destroying several virtual baddies using your weapon of choice. James had chosen his favorite weapon, the longblades. It was somewhat easy because it was repetitive. The enemies never changed their strategy or where they came from, so it was simply a matter of remembering where they were and defeating them quickly.

This, however, was easier said then done.

By now James had reached the starting area and was prepping for the drill for the sixth time. He flipped the daggers into the air, catching them expertly. Sergeant Bozie, a hound, was waiting at the finish for him.

"Go!"

The words came to him before he was even ready, so he wasted a few needed seconds.

"_Crud,"_ he thought. _"Why does he start when he knows I'm not ready?"_

James ran to the first part of the course, which involved jumping over "logs" while slicing baddies in midair. Simple. James was through in only ten seconds.

"_Yes. That's quicker than normal."_

The next leg, which was slightly more difficult, was still easy for James. He needed to swing on a long rope, jump off onto a platform, and slice more enemies again while airborne.

He was just coming to the next segment when a voice came in over the P.A. system.

"James and Christy McCloud. Your father would like to see you in the Generals office as soon as possible. Thank you."

James came to a quick halt and started walking to the edge of the room. He could see that Bozie was not happy. For some reason James could not figure out, Bozie seamed to enjoy making him suffer.

"I expect you back as soon as you're done." He looked as if James had done some evil, unforgivable act.

"I'll be as fast as I can, Sir." James gave him a salute, collected his things, and started to walk out. "_On my way _there_,"_ he thought to himself.

As he turned at the first intersection, he remembered his first few days at the Lylat Armed Forces Academy. He had been scared stiff because he was the youngest student at the time. At least he wasn't the only one scared stiff. His sister was even more terrified than he was.

He soon came to the Mechanical Wing, where he would find Christy. She could always be found working on a new weapon or starship. Her latest invention used highly powerful electronic waves to polarize ground and craft to create a new antigravity system. She then put the same technology into a weapon dubbed the gravity gun, because of its purpose. It was used to lift heavy objects and bring them to the user, so it was often used in construction work. If desired, the gun could then reverse its polarity, throwing the object at high speeds. Both devises were drafted into the army in a few weeks.

James first looked into the Weapons Room. She didn't appear to be in with the others. He could tell that they were older, but much lower ability than his sis due to their insignias.

He then decided to check Ship Engineering.

When he arrived, he could hear a very loud discussion taking place. He could tell right away that Christy was there.

He entered to find two girls arguing over what looked like jumbled wires. The fox with red and a slightly pinkish shade of fur was his sister. The other girl, a Saurian lightfoot, he did not recognize.

"Ah," the lightfoot inquired, "sso your brother iss here. He with tell you zat I am right."

Christy gave James a disgusted look. "He doesn't know the difference between an atomic accelerator and a matter-antimatter containment block."

"Did you not hear the summons?" he asked his sister. "We need to get going."

"Alright, I'm coming." She quickly glanced at the Lightfoot. "We'll finish this tomorrow."

As they left the room, she turned to her brother. "Shouldn't you take a shower?"

"Naw. I'll be fine."

They jogged to the hanger where the vehicles were held.

"We'll have to pay for an airbus. Do you have any money?" James searched his pockets but gave her a shake of his head.

"I've got a better idea." He suddenly formed that grin that kept given Christy chills. "We'll take my hover board."

He walked over to a row of lockers and opened one using a key. He removed a long board that looked like a thick skateboard without wheels. When he dropped it, it stopped a foot from the ground.

"Just don't go over the speed limit like last time," she said as she stepped on behind him a little reluctantly.

"Don't worry. I've leaned my lesson."

"I'm sure you have," she exclaimed sarcastically.

James picked up the acceleration handle. Christy quickly grabbed on to him just as he screamed, "Let's rock and roll!" Suddenly he squeezed the throttle, shooting the board out into the traffic lanes.


	3. Background

Chapter 1

**Chapter 1.5:**

**Background Bios**

Now would probably be a good time to describe some of the new characters to you.

I will start out with the original Star Fox team for those of you that are new to the series (if you aren't, why are you reading this?). Fox McCloud, the leader of Star Fox, is one of those people that "shoot first, ask questions later." But he's strong headed and is good in both hand-to-hand combat and weaponry. Fox's parents died when he was about ten years of age, which led him to become a pilot to forget about them.

Krystal, Fox's wife and the only survivor of her home planet, Cerinia, is just the opposite. She prefers to think things through before acting. She is also a telepath, which is a very useful trait. She, like Fox, lost her parents when she was young. Krystal spent her life traveling the galaxy helping others,

Falco Lombardi (if you can't figure out his species, stop reading) is a Han Solo type character, simply put. Kind of a smart a#, but is trustworthy. Not much else is known of him.

Slippy Toad, now retired, is a master mechanic and is still childish in attitude, even if he is sixty years of age. His voice is his most recognizable feature because it always sounds like he is on helium. Slippy prefers to keep his origins a secret, but it is believed he came from one of the oceanic planets.

Now for the kids. James, as stated earlier, is a hand-to-hand fighter. The fact of using a blaster rather than an old fashion sword or dagger doesn't appeal to him. He takes a lot after his father in way of character: strong-headed and a good leader. He really looks up to his father and wishes to be team leader one day. He can be impulsive and will easily give up if he doesn't see a solution, but at the same time is stubborn enough to follow his plans through.

Christy is James' opposite. Unlike James, she prefers a long-ranged blaster shootout. She is a little bit rasher when it comes to outright overpowering and would sneak past an opponent rather than take him down, but is more than capable of doing so if need be. Like her mother, she likes to think things through and take the situation slowly.


	4. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

**Chapter 2:**

**The General**

**A/N: This is kind of strange. This story got over 100 hits without a single review! What's with that? Please people. Feedback is important to a writer, and that includes negative feedback. If you aren't reviewing because it would turn into a flame, then flame me! But give me something.**

Despite Christy's warnings, James still flew as he usually did: too fast, too high, and too risky. On several occasions, Christy could feel her fur rubbing against a ship's hull plating. James even tried running straight through an intersection, once. He only barely got through by performing a barrel roll. If Christy had not installed the gravity enhancers into the board, she would have plummeted several hundred feet to her death.

After about ten minutes of dodging cars and slipping between buildings, they arrived at the Senate House. The building was almost unassuming at first glance. It consisted of a large, metallic cube several blocks wide with five towers, the tallest reaching 1000 feet. If it were not for the intricate engravings or the several hundred guards, people would almost not notice. At the very peak of the central and tallest tower was the General's quarters.

James started to tilt the board towards the main hanger, but then got a better idea. He quickly jerked it back up in the direction of the main tower.

"What are you doing? There's no way in up there!" With the wind blowing by so fast, Christy's cries only barely reached James' ears, lowered in excitement.

"How high does this thing go?" she screamed to him.

"About one thousand feet, at best." It would be just enough to reach his target.

As the tower drew nearer, Christy could start to make out the General's level. Just below it she could see a small hole starting to open, as if a mouth was about to gulp them up.

"Is that what you're headed for?" She pointed at the swiftly opening door, but James ignored her.

The engines suddenly started sputtering.

James' heart skipped a beat. "What's going on?"

"We're up too high," she hollered at him. "The engines are goin' to give."

"We just need to get a little closer," he screamed back. If they were lucky, they would just make it.

The board was starting to fall, but James kept heading for the door. If they didn't make it in the next few seconds, they would be too low.

James quickly grabbed Christy's paw. "_JUMP!_" They both shoved off the board not a second to late.

The pair hit the edge of the hanger floor an inch from the open door. James could faintly hear the sound of metal on metal as his board hit the tower wall.

At first, he didn't want to move. The shock of almost being killed usually does that to you. But after a few seconds, he forced himself to turn and crawl to the edge. As he peered down, he could just see the board falling. After he watched it for a second, it vanished completely from sight.

He pushed himself back from the wall and turned to check on his sister. Just as he turned, a small paw came and slapped him right in muzzle.

"Don't you ever do that again! And how did you find out about this hanger?"

He could tell his sister was quite angry at him. But he didn't have time to argue.

Just behind Christy, someone had entered the hanger. The figure was at least five and a half feet tall with grey and an ever-so-slight hint of red fur. In the middle of her face there was a deep red stripe running the length of her face. The way she stood against the light would make even the most evil villain cringe.

James and Christy quickly stood and bowed in respect.

"Greetings, General." They spoke in perfect unison after having done it many times.

"Hello, children." Her voice sounded mostly like a female's, but with a slightly lower tone. Just the sound sent shivers down James' spine. "I hope you're not hurt after your little … adventure."

"We're fine, thank you." James was actually more aggravated the hurt. "Please don't speak of this to our father. He would kill us if he found out."

"She won't have to tell him." The two knew this voice all too well. It was the voice of a slightly disappointed and mostly angry father.

The person standing in the doorway was a mature fox. His naturally reddish fur had turned slightly grey with age. But there was still that fire in his eye that had been there from birth and was now in his son's.

Both of the children bowed their heads in respect. "Father."

Fox looked at his kids with a glaring eye.

"Do not do that particular stunt again, or I shall have you confined for a week."

The children nodded as their father walked over. But to their surprise, he slowly smiled. "I'm just glad you're all right."

He kneeled and hugged them both. They didn't know what to say.

After a few seconds, he released them. "Come. We have business to attend to."

The General turned to exit. James shuddered as they followed a short time after her. "That woman gives me the creeps," he whispered to his sis.

"She scares me as well." His father had apparently overheard. "But we must learn to deal with her while she is in office. At least we do not have to put up with her forever. She is a good leader, but still, I do not agree with the thought of an all out war." He was referring to the General's newest bill to be voted on.

"I do not like it either," Christy whispered. "If there is a war, we won't get to spend as much time together."

"We'll worry about that when it comes," Fox said encouragingly.

"At least she can't start a war without a majority vote. If not, we'd have been in it four years ago," James chimed just low enough for Scarlet to not hear him.

By now, they had reached a large briefing room. Their mother, Falco, and a few other commanders were already seated, waiting to start the meeting.

The trio took their places as the General took hers.

"Alright," she began. "Let's get started …"

_Next time:_

_Chapter 3:_

_A New Assignment_


	5. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

**Chapter 3:**

**A New Assignment**

"Alright," Scarlet began, "let's get started."

As she spoke, a hologram projector rose up from the center of the table. When it was fully extended, it displayed the Lylat system.

"As you are probably aware, we have a large mining operation underway deep in the Asteroid Belt." As she continued speaking, the hologram zoomed in on the Belt, showing a few large asteroids. On the giant rocks were what looked like several small cities consisting of bubbles and connecting tunnels. Over each city was a slight bluish glow, a protective force field.

Scarlet continued speaking. "Our intelligence tells me that the Free Planets will soon attack Sakre to steal some much needed funds." Her face turned slightly sour. "However, if my bill would pass, this would not happen."

The children turned to each other slightly, a scared look on each of their faces.

Being a telepath and their mother, Krystal had a strong connection with them, so she could tell what they were thinking.

"Ted'k nehhao. Ak'j zijk u ceto ep shuf. Ak nacc doloh fuhh." She was speaking in the old Saurian dino language, only known by Suarians, Krystal, and her kids.

The kids tried to contain their giggles, but failed.

Scarlet glaired at Krystal. "Do you have something to add, Mrs. Krystal?"

"No, you're Honor."

For those of you that don't know Suarian, here is a basic translation. "Don't worry. It's just a load of crap. It will never pass."

"Very well then. Fox, I would like you to take your team to Sakre and protect it. There will be help waiting for you."

Fox stood to speak his reply. "We have agreed to do this task. However, we will not take any unnecessary lives, friend or foe."

"Very well. Also, two cruisers will be accompanying you." She indicated the commanders in the other chairs. "Are there any objections?"

No-one moved.

"Then I expect you to leave within the day. Dismissed."

As the attendants filed out, the McCloud family turned towards the parent's quarters.

"So I guess you'll be gone for a while, huh?" James looked at the ground, saddened. His father was always going on missions and leaving them behind.

His father just kept looking ahead as he replied. "Yep. But there's good news. You'll be coming with us."

James and Christy froze in their tracks. Could what he was saying be true? Could their father actually be taking them into a battle zone?

Fox stopped a few yards ahead of them. "I know you're shocked, but I know you're ready. This is to be your first, real combat. Think of it as a test." He suddenly turned, stood straight and saluted. "Get back to the academy, collect your things, and meet us at the Fox I in two hours."

"Yes, Sir." The kids saluted back in joyfulness. They would soon be on their fist mission!

The family stood on the deck of the Fox I, the ship used to transport the Star Fox team throughout the galaxy. The launch had gone unassumingly with a flawless warp gate transport. Now they stood looking over Sakre, the mining facility.

Overhead, an alarm stared to blare.

"Free Planet frigates coming in from the left." It was ROB talking over the intercom.

"That's our queue." Fox and his family turned towards the deck exit.

The Fox I's hanger was a two story, two slots on the upper lever and three on the lower. Each slot held one ship.

On the upper level, Fox's and Krystal's ship waited. Falco's was below. All of them were the original, standard R-wings.

Christy's ship was next to Falco's. She had hand customized it to fit her exact fighting stile. The nose was larger and it had smaller wings. The armor was tripled to protect its unusually slow speed, but this ship really packed a punch. It had an enormous missile bay along with energy-burst guns instead of blasters. It was the perfect long-range powerhouse weapon.

James' R-wing was, of course, directly opposite. The armor and shields had been stripped to the minimum for high maneuverability. The main craft was slightly smaller, and the G-diffuser system had been amped up to twice its normal power for even more maneuverability. This craft was perfect for flying through enemies, which is what James' loved to do. The enemies could almost never hit it because it was so fast. It was perfect.

The group ran to their separate ships and jumped in. James' couldn't wait for them to launch.

The cockpit closed and sealed with a hiss, telling him that it was now airtight.

ROB's voice again came over them. "Releasing clamps." Right then, the panels in front of the craft's wings slowly rose, creating an open route into space.

James was starting to get tense.

ROB spoke for what would be the last time. "Launch in 3…"

James' fur rose all over his body.

"2…"

He tightened his grip on the control sticks.

"1…"

Quickly he licked a bead of sweat of the side of his muzzle. Then came the word he had been waiting his whole life to hear.

"Launch…"

_Next_

_Chapter 4:_

_Into the Fray_


	6. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

**Chapter 4:**

**Into the Fray**

"Launch!"

Suddenly the beam holding the R-wings flew forward, throwing them into space. James wished he could feel the full G-forces of such a launch, but the G-diffusers wouldn't allow it.

They adjusted their course slightly to hover over Sakre as the rest of the CDF fighters launched from their ships. The Free Planet frigates were just coming out of a warp gate.

Fox's voice came over the comm. system. "Krystal and Falco, you and I will stay here and protect the buildings. The shield will help us a bit."

"Understood." "You got it."

"Christy, I want you to destroy the frigates before they get within firing range. If they get too close, they'll level the city in minutes."

"Roger."

James interrupted. "What should I do?"

"You protect Christy. Her ship's not made for fighter combat."

"What about us?" Four new ships slowly came over to stop next to the R-wings. Three of the crafts were old Wolfens, showing that the newcomers were Star Wolf. The current members were Wolf, Leon, and Panther.

"Wolf." Fox spoke through clenched teeth. For those of you that don't know, Fox and Wolf have been rivals for many years. "What are you doing here?"

"We're mercs. This was the highest paying job at the time, so we took it. Oh, we're on orders to do whatever you say. Just don't get any ideas of sending us to our deaths."

"And who's the new guy?"

"My name is Max. I'm Wolf's son." Max was small wolf with dark grey, almost black, fur. His ship, though small, looked menacing. It consisted of a main cockpit with five fins spreading out in the shape of a claw. On each wing tip was some kind of weapon. James identified blasters, missiles, and others. On the side, the name "Wolf Claw" was painted in dark red.

"Well if you're under my orders," Fox continued, "I want Wolf, Leon, and Panther to help us protect the main buildings. Max, you're with James and Christy."

"_Great,_" James thought to himself.

Enemy fighters were mere kilometers away now. Fox's voice again came over. "Alright, all fighters move out."

James hit the throttle to full, blasting past the first wave of fighters. He pulled the gun triggers, taking out a full wing with his first volley.

"James, I need you!" With a glance, James could see that Christy already had two bogies on her tail. They were blasting at her relentlessly, but missing most of the time.

James executed a long loop, putting him right behind them. "Bye." He let loose just enough to blast them both but not to hit Christy.

"Thanks."

In about thirty seconds, the group reached the frigates. Christy immediately opened fire. The shots, to their not-so-great surprise, stopped short with a blue glow.

"Force field. I'm going to try missiles." Christy accompanied her statement with five missiles, one after the other, into the frigate's bridge. The ship went up into a ball of fire. Some of the debris flew and hit smaller fighters nearby, including Max.

"Watch it!"

Christy turned to go after the next frigate, but several fighters got in her way. "I've got this one," she called to the others. She fired one of her ten nova bombs. The resulting blast destroyed five at once.

James turned to see if there were any other fighters that he needed to take care of. He noticed that a few of the C.D.F. (Cornerian Defence Force) ships had broken off come to assist them. "_Good. That will be a big help." _He then looked over and noticed a different ship. It appeared to have two large boxes on each side of it.

The ship opened panels over the boxes to reveal rows of missiles. "_Oh, crap."_ The ship fired on him.

James quickly turned to avoid them, but they turned themselves around and gave chase. He decided to try and use the frigates. He flew towards one, slowing down as he went. The missiles were getting closer. At the last second, he pulled up and hit the throttle. He sped out of the way while one missile smashed into the frigate. The other was able to avoid it somehow. He slowed down to about the speed of the missile and went into a loop. The missile followed him, so he continued to do several loops. After his fifth, he opened the throttle to full, blasting off. The missile, having lost its target, went after the nearest fighter it could find. It just happened to be a Free Planet fighter.

The battle went smoothly for about another hour.

"That's the last one." It was Christy's voice. James glanced over to see the tenth ball of flame. "Let's get back with the others."

Without warning, a large ship that looked like a transport appeared as if from nowhere.

"Where did that come from?" James could tell the others were just as shocked.

"The only way a ship could appear that quickly without a warp was if it had light-engines, but those are only experimental." Christy was again showing off her knowledge.

"And that is …?" James, as usual, was stumped.

"It's an engine that allows a ship to transport from one place to another almost instantaneously by traveling at the speed of light."

"Ahhhh." James and Max spoke together, still oblivious.

As they approached the city, they could see Fox's and the other's ships just stopped.

"Why have we stopped? I didn't push anything." Falco, for the first time in a while, was surprised by his ship's activity.

"It's a tractor beam. That transport is holding them in place. Wait,… it's not stopping them." Christy's voice went from curious to terrified. "It's pulling them in."

"WHAT??" James was just as terrified at this news. A tractor beam used magnets to pull items into a ships cargo bay. It was also unbreakable. If they were using a tractor beam, it meant that they were taking prisoners.

Fox's face appeared on a screen in the HUD. "Kids, get back to Fox I and go back to Lylat City. We'll handle this." James thought he heard a hint of fear in his dad's voice.

"We can't leave you! We can destroy the ship. That will destroy the beam." At that time, James was willing to try anything.

Christy started checking through her ship's files. "We should be able to if he work fast."

James started to fly toward the cruiser. From out of nowhere, a dozen fighters flew in and stopped in his path, forming a barrier. James only barely survived by pulling off.

Christy flew up. "Let me try." She let off a nova bomb, which exploded to create a large sphere of energy. The blast instantly destroyed most of the fighters, but a second later, more came to take their place.

The team's R-wings were getting close to the transport's cargo bay.

"Get back to the ship. That is an order."

James didn't want to, but he had to obey. He started turning his ship around.

"And kids…"

James looked down at his father's face. "Yes, Sir?"

The fox's face melted into the face of a sad father. "I love you."

The screen went into static as the doors closed around the ships, cutting them off completely.


	7. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Uncle Slip**

In that one second, James' world froze. One of the few people that he could talk to was gone. Who knew what sort of things would be done to them? James could only imagine and hope for the best.

"James, look out!!" Only Christy's scream brought him back to the present; which, presently, there was a fighter coming straight for him, ready to blast him to bits.

Without warning, the ship erupted in flames. The Wolf Claw flew through the flames, almost crashing into James.

"I may not like you," Max said between clenched teeth, "but I'm still under your father's orders to protect you."

"Thanks." Even though James was grateful, the incident didn't change his opinion of Max.

James turned back to transport that held his father's R-wing. It had turned around in the direction it had come. Suddenly, it blast off as quickly as it had come. Only now did they notice that all of the other ships were gone as well.

"Where'd they all go? And how did they get a light-engine? Those things are still in development. And how would they get the money?"

"SHUT UP!!" James and Max yelled at Christy in perfect unison.

"Well let's get back to Lylat." Christy and the others quickly flew their ships back to the Fox I.

Christy and James docked their ships in the main hanger while Max docked his in the secondary, rear hanger.

They all met on the deck of the ship.

"ROB, take us back to…," Christy was going to say Lylat, but James interrupted.

"We're not going back. We're going to find Mom and Dad." He gave her that "I've-made-up-my-mind-and-you-can't-change-it" look.

She still chose to argue. "And where do you suppose we look for them? That ship could be anywhere in the system by now."

"I don't know, but I'm going to find them. We'll just drop Max off at the nearest planet and get going."

"Oh, no you don't." Max joined in the fight. "In case you didn't notice, that ship got my father, too." Actually, they had not noticed. "If you're going to find them, I'm coming."

James looked at his sister. She stared back and sighed. "Alright, but we're going to need some help." She turned back to ROB. "ROB, take us to Kanto, ASAP."

The planet of Kanto was a very unusual planet. It had an oddly oversized moon with a too-low orbit over the same spot on the planet. This pulled all of the planet's water to one side. Therefore, half of the orb was a giant marsh while the other was a vast desert.

Slippy lived deep in the marsh, in the region known as Dead Man's Forest, named for all of the carnivorous animals that lived there.

The group took Krytal's small cruiser down to planet (they could not all fit into one fighter). The building Slippy used as a home had a landing platform over the roof, making an easy place to land.

They walked down the stairs to the entranceway. Christy politely knocked on the large metal door. When there came no reply, she spoke into a small speaker next to the door. "Uncle Slippy? It's us, James and Christy. We need your help."

With that, the door slid open. Inside looked like a big mechanical shop, with wires and metal lying everywhere.

As they walked in, Max simply stared at the mess. "Not very tidy, is he?"

"No, I'm not." The high-pitched voice could not be anyone else's but Slippy's. He wheeled out in his old wheelchair. He had lost his left leg during a major accident. He had been working on a ship's engine when it fell apart, the heaviest parts falling on his legs. He now had prosthetic leg, but, since he was so short, you hardly noticed. He often decided to use an old fashioned wheel chair when he had a lot of moving around to do, though. Even with the changes, he still held his high-pitched voice and young attitude.

The McCloud kids ran to hug him. As they greeted each other, Max started to wander around.

"Who's that boy there?"

"That's Max. He's Wolf's son." Christy's voice was low, as if she didn't want him to hear this. After, she said it, you can understand why.

Slippy almost jumped out of his chair. "An O'Donnell? Get him out of here. I don't trust any O'Donnell"

"Uncle, relax." James tried to calm him down. "Our parents were captured."

Slippy looked up to stare at him.

"Star Wolf was also captured," James went on. "We need your help to find them."

Slippy looked horrified. "I don't know if I can help you. I'm too old for that sort of stuff. All I do all day is sit and work on machines." He walked to a bench and held up what looked like a small blaster.

"What is it?" Christy, being the girl she was, walked over.

"It's an old pistol. Before my great-grandfather was born, they used this as a weapon. It shot tiny pieces of metal at sonic speeds."

"I don't think it will work." Christy took it from his hands. "It looks too rusted to do anything."

"All well." Slippy turned around. "Even if I can't help you, you're welcome to stay for the night. But what's-his-name is going to have to sleep outside."

"Uncle Slippy!" The two gave him a disgusted look.

Slippy smiled. "I'm only kidding. He's welcome too. Let's go to the kitchen. I've got some stew brewing right now."

_Next_

_Chapter 6:_

_The Search Begins_


	8. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**The Search Begins**

The kids had dinner with their uncle Slippy and, with his request, stayed the night. The next morning, after breakfast, Christy agreed to help Slippy with a new weapon he was developing.

While they were working, Christy got the idea to ask Slippy about light-engines. When she asked him, he started one of his long lectures that explained how they supposedly worked, but were still in production.

"From what I understand, they are supposed to use some kind of system that actually lets them 'ride' light waves, or something. I'm not really sure how, but it has something to do with using a special ore that traps the photons of light, yet still releases it's electromagnetic waves. I think it was actually just a few weeks ago that they found such an ore on Sauria. Why do you ask?" Slippy turned to look for Christy, but she had vanished.

James had gotten up early to do his daily training. Currently, he was battling against a holographic Lightfoot. He was pinned up against a holographic pillar, the Lightfoot charging right at him.

When the creature was only a few feet away from him, everything vanished. The pillar, which he was leaning against, also disappeared, causing him to collapse on the floor.

The lights came on just as he got to his knees. Christy was standing in the doorway.

She grinned down at him. "I hope I'm not interrupting, but it looked like you were beaten."

James jumped up and brushed himself off. "I could have taken him down had I gotten the chance."

"Sure." Her face suddenly went firm. "We've got to go, now."

She turned to leave, so James quickly sprinted up beside her. "Why?"

Without looking, she gave him her somewhat happy news. "I've got a lead on where Mom and Dad are." She went on to explain what Uncle Slippy had told her. Until she got to the part about Sauria, James kept the same puzzled look on his face. She then continued. "We've got to go to Sauria and find out who got that ore."

James nodded, his face also going firm.

They found Max still in his room, sitting on his bed. When they walked in, he looked at them uncharacteristically.

James was the first to speak. "Get your things. We're leaving. I'll explain on the way to the ship."

Max simply reached behind the bed, pulled up his bag, and walked over.

As they were heading toward the ship, Slippy intercepted them. "Where do you think you're going?"

Christy explained what they were going to do, but he refused to let them go. "I can't risk you like this." His voice went slightly higher than his already high pitch. "If you were hurt, your parents would never forgive me."

James put his paw on his shoulder. "If we don't go, there will be no-one to not forgive you." With that, they boarded their ship and flew up to the Fox I.

When they reached the ship, ROB was there to greet them. Unfortunately, he also had some bad news to give them. "The ship is low on power. We must wait approximately five days before we can make a warp gate."

"How long would it take to fly strait there?" James wanted to get there at quickly as possible."

"Approximately twenty days."

All three kids gave the same answer at the same time. "We'll wait."

Max, as usual, just went strait to his room. James and Christy went to the briefing room to discuss the upcoming search.

"If the Free Planets had planned this, then they may know that we're coming." Christy was pacing along the wall. "We don't have any guns to use. All we have are a few of your swords."

"Not exactly." James again gave her his creepy smile. "This morning while you were with Uncle Slippy I did some investigating and borrowed a few things."

"What are saying?" Her face was half shocked and half excited.

"In the shuttle there are quite a few weapons that we can use. Guns include a Gravity gun, machine guns, rocket launcher, and several old weapons."

"And I suppose that you smuggled them without Uncle's knowing."

"Correct." He leaned back in his chair, hands folded over his chest.

Christy thought for a moment. "Well, we do need the weapons…"

He smiled at her.

"Alright, we can keep them. But we return them as soon as we're done."

"Fine. Well, I'm going to back to bed." He stood up, stretched, and started to walk out.

"But you just got up." She gave him a disgusted look at his back.

"I know, but I'm still tired. See you in a few hours."

The door closed behind him.

_Next_

_Chapter 7_

_An Old Foe_


	9. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**An Old Foe**

James walked into Christy's room. The past few days had been pretty dull while waiting for the ship to charge for a warp gate. It was now only an hour away.

James found Christy sitting on her bed, facing her small plasma screen television. He walked over to stand beside her. "Only an hour to go. You just about ready?"

She quickly glanced at him then turned back to the TV. "Look at this." She spoke in a soft, almost scared tone.

The television was tuned to IPN, InterPlanetary News. Scarlet was standing on a platform in front of the Senate House, giving a speech. "The Free Planets of Lylat have captured the Star Fox team. This is an act of war. Clearly they do not want to come peacefully. We must take action."

James could see why Christy was scared. "How can she do this? Using our parents as an excuse to start a war. It's crazy."

"I know." Christy flipped off the TV as she stood. "Let's get Max."

"He's already on the bridge waiting. Let's go."

"Hold on a moment." She turned around, went to a cabinet, and took out a small gauntlet. She came back and handed it to him. "I want you to take this."

James took it, but didn't know what it was. "What is it?"

"It's a miniature, camouflage dart launcher loaded with two poison-tipped darts. I want you to use it if you get into trouble."

He tried to hand it back to her. "You know I hate using guns."

She refused to take it. "You may need it. Trust me."

With a sigh, he wrapped the gauntlet around his wrist. It almost instantly changed to blend in with his fur. "Cool," was his only reply.

An hour later, James, Christy, Max, and ROB stood on the Fox I's bridge, a large, green warp gate open in front of them. James, being his father's heir, took command. "ROB, take us in."

The ship surged forward into the gate. As the bridge moved through, the planet Sauria appeared before them. The prominent Ice Mountain was directly in front of them, with Thorntail Hollow slightly to the south. The hollow was their landing point because it was within easy reach of almost every region of the planet.

As the group moved through the halls towards the rear hanger, James couldn't help but notice the weapons on Max. He had a blaster on one hip, a machine gun on the other, and a small rocket launcher strapped across his back.

James glared at his through squinted eyes. "You're prepared, aren't you?"

Max looked back, noticed the weapons on James, and gave his reply. "I see you're obviously not."

James was carrying two longblades across his back, a small dagger in his shoe, several throwing knives in his sleeves, as well as two longer knives in his jacket and the dart gun. Most of the weapons were concealed, though, so Max couldn't see them. He simply smiled back. "We'll see who's more prepared."

The group entered the cruiser, which promptly shut its entrance hatch. Christy fired up the engines and flew down to the planet.

The ship landed without a bump. As the hatch lowered, James and Christy gazed out at the world that they so deeply loved. This was where their parents had first met, as well as where they had spent so many vacations together.

But as they looked around, they noticed that something was different.

Christy was the first to speak it. "Where are all of the Thorntails?"

She was right. Normally, this place was crawling with them. But now, it was disserted.

"Let's look around. Maybe we can find something." James again took command.

The group went their separate ways. James search near the Thorntail Store, Christy searched by the Queen's Cave, and Max looked around the field where they landed.

For five minutes, they found nothing. Then Max discovered a small cube with a tiny button on it. He called the others over. When they were all assembled, he pressed the button.

Without warning, half a dozen panels in the rock walls opened and dozens of large dinos spilled out. They resembled small T-rexes, but were blue, green, and brown. James and Christy recognized them from their parents' stories. "Sharpclaws!"

The group was quickly surrounded, forcing them to go back to back. Max and Christy drew their blasters while James drew both of his longblades.

Some of the Sharpclaws parted to let someone through. The figure was twice the height of the Sharpclaws, but of the same species. He also looked twice as fierce.

Again, James and Christy recognized him. They both gasped in sheer horror. "General Scales?"

"Yes." He was speaking in old Saurian, but I will translate for you.

James was quite puzzled. "I thought you died when you released your Krazoa Spirit."

"I almost did. But I recovered. And now I am back to take over Sauria and the whole Lylat System."

Christy intervened. "How do you plan on doing that?"

"I wish I could explain, but you are about to die so it won't do you any good." At these words, the rest of the Sharpclaws readied themselves.

James and Christy did likewise. Max, who could not understand a word that was being said, followed their example. This was going to be quite a fight, even for James.

James waited until Scales, who had backed up to avoid confrontation,

gave his soldiers the command.

"Attack!"


	10. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**Max Missing**

The moment Scales gave the order, James pounced right in the middle of a group of Sharpclaws.

For those of you that don't know about Sharpclaws, here's a bit of info. They're dumb. I mean really dumb. Their fighting is pathetic. If they fought correctly, James and the others wouldn't stand a chance. But, instead of rushing them, the Sharpclaws took turns attacking, making killing them very easy.

As soon as he landed, James went into a cyclone spin, slashing four 'Claws through the stomach. He then went on the defensive, waiting until one was right in his face before rolling to one side and slashing upwards from hip to shoulder. Each time he killed one, though, it disappeared in a strange blue light. But, of course, James already knew this would happen.

While James was getting bloody, Christy was blasting everything. She had pulled out her machine gun to assist her blaster, so she was killing dinos by the second. But her form of fighting is boring, so let's get back to James.

He had already dispatched ten 'Claws, and was trying to work back towards Christy. He sheathed one of his blades and quickly threw three knives, neatly cutting three throats. But as soon as they fell, more took their place. As hard as he tried, he was being pushed away form his sister.

He backed up against one 'Claw, but before he could be grabbed, he ran back the other way. At the last second, he leaped on top of the first Sharpclaw, and then jumped onto the next. He jumped from one guy to the next, working his way back to Christy.

When she was finally in sight, James could see a small Sharpclaw sneaking up behind her. He made a giant leap, clearing three Sharpclaws at once. He was falling right at her.

"DUCK!!"

How she heard him over her guns, James never knew. But she looked up, saw him, and instantly responded. James landed directly behind her, driving his blade down the Sharpclaw's spinal column.

"Here." She flipped him another machine gun.

He caught it and right away knew what she meant. Even though he usually refused to use guns, this was a special occasion. Back to back, James and Christy turned, mowing down the ones in front. In about ten seconds, they were the only ones standing in the field.

James fell to his knees exhausted. This was his first actual combat, so he was a bit overwhelmed. Christy just stood there, looking around. Again, she was the first to point out the difference.

"Where's Max?"

Max knelt only a few yards away from General Scales, his hands tied tightly behind his back. He had given himself to the Sharpclaws in order to do some talking with Scales.

"Listen, I can't understand you, but I hope you can understand me. If you know where my father is, I will help you if you agree to let them go." He looked pleadingly into Scaled' orange eyes.

"A bden nxoho kxoo uho. Av oio te mo ratadw, A mawk hocoujo kxom."

Even though Max had no idea what he was saying, he nodded. "I'll do anything you want."

Scales grinned. Max just hoped he was doing the right thing.

"Great! Now we have to find him as well!" Christy was pacing, trying to think of an idea.

"Relax." James was lying by the stream. "We don't need him."

"Yes, we do. His father is with ours, so we're in this together."

"Whatever you say." He got up, brushed himself off, and walked over to her. "But I don't trust him." He kept walking till he reached the rock wall.

He began feeling along, as if looking for something.

Christy stood there puzzled. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for a seam." He didn't even look back. "Maybe the hatches the Sharpclaws came out of lead to some tunnels. We can follow them to their base."

Christy, seeing the sense behind it, also began looking. It took them fifteen minutes to find one hole. It took them another fifteen minutes just to pry it open. But when they did open it, they were rewarded. In the back of the hole, there was a large tunnel going deep into the cliff. The kids had to go back to the ship and scrounge up some lights, so it was about an hour before they got moving again.

Only a few meters into the tunnel, they found signs that the Sharpclaws had been there for a while. The ground had been well trampled and there were several old carcasses lying around. The place also stank.

Christy looked at her wrist comp. "If we continue in this direction, we'll probably end up at Moon Mountain Pass."

Of course, she was correct. After approximately thirty minutes of walking, they came out of the tunnel. They were in a small ravine, the walls being a slightly greenish color.

"There must be a base around here somewhere." James was thinking out loud without realizing it.

Christy pulled out a pair of binoculars and looked down to the left. After a few quick glances, she put them back. "There is. About twenty meters in that direction. They've got several guard towers around the walls, though, so we'll need to sneak in."

"No need." James pulled a small disk out of his pocket. He pressed a button and it started to glow. From it, a greenish ring of light moved up his arm and spread over his body. But as the light passed, his suit changed. When the light finally disappeared, he looked like a Sharpclaw. Christy almost shot him.

"Relax, it's me. It's just a hologram."

She stared at him and cautiously put her gun away. "Got a second one of those?"

"No, but it works for two." He held it a little closer and pushed a second button. The display of lights repeated on Christy. "But its range is only so far. We'll have to stay close."

"Just as long as we don't get attacked."

They started walking towards the base. As they approached, the sentries turned their guns towards them. But they got through the gates unchecked.

The base was similar to the others that James had seen. There were several tents positioned at various places, each with a different purpose. He could tell right away which the Mess Hall was. There was a horrible stink emitting from it.

They walked on for several minutes. Quite a few 'Claws eyed them suspiciously, but no one questioned them. They finally found a large, multicolored tent. There was no doubt that it was the General's.

They slowly approached it, keeping to the shadows. When they got to the tent, they peered inside. There were two guards sitting in the entrance. One of them saw them and stood. "What are you doing in here? This is the…" James quietly slayed both guards with a knife to each throat. Since they were inside of the tent, no one saw the light that they gave off when they disappeared.

They entered the inner tent. But it was, for some reason, empty. No one was around.

"He must be off somewhere else," Christy inquired. "Let's go before someone spots us."

Their exit was almost as easy as their entrance. At the gate, they were asked why they were leaving. "Going out on patrol," was their reply. The main guard let them passed. But as the gate was closing, he called them back. "There's already been a patrol." He climbed up the wall to see them, but they had gone into a sprint. "Shoot them," he ordered to the sentries. They instantly turned and fired.

James quickly realized what had happened. As he and Christy were running, he reached down, pushed a button on the projector, and grabbed Christy's paw. The next thing he saw was a sudden blue light.

The main guard saw them disappear in the normal blue light. He turned back and climbed back to his post by the gate.

James and Christy arrived back at the tunnel. She instantly turned on him. "What was that blue light? And why did they stop shooting?"

James pointed down to the projector. "I turned on the camouflage. But I also used the blue light to make it appear like we were killed."

She nodded her head with a small grin. "I didn't think that you were that smart." They both laughed, and then Christy turned back to the tunnel. "Let's go back and see if we can find another tunnel. If Scales isn't here, he's got to be somewhere else."

Together they turned and walked back to the hollow.


	11. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**Another Base Search**

It took James and Christy another half-hour to find another tunnel. This one, unlike the last, twisted several times, so Christy could never calculate where they were going. Eventually, the tunnel opened into the Snowhorn Wastes. But there was one small difference this time. They were right in the middle of a Sharpclaw base.

It was now night time, and James could not see very far ahead. As the tunnel widened, he switched off his light so as not to alert any Sharpclaws. He peered to the right as he exited the tunnel. What he saw startled him for a second. It was a large green Sharpclaw holding a lantern.

He quickly drew back, pushing Christy as well. She almost cried at the sudden movement, but he muffled her muzzle with his paw. She struggled until the Sharpclaw passed in front of the entrance. The guard glanced around, but didn't look inside.

After he had passed, James turned to Christy. "Let's go cautiously." He activated the hologram which lit up brightly. He tried to cover it, but could not. He hoped that no one had seen the flash.

When the gadget had done its work and no one appeared, they moved out. The hole was positioned slightly behind the entrance gate, but the sentries were looking out instead of in. They walked through the base with no interference.

They eventually came to a large cavern. Inside were a dozen Snowhorns, each in a large, hamster-wheel-like devise. Each one was connected to a central tower. James assumed that they were being used to create electricity of some kind. Christy just stood there, aghast. "We've got to help them," she whispered.

When she started to move, James held her back. "If we move now, there will be a hundred Sharpclaws on us in ten seconds. We'll have to leave 'em for now."

Seeing that there was no other exit from the cavern, he pulled her back. They kept walking until they found another tent, much like the one in Moon Mountain Pass. To avoid the guards, they decided to enter from the back.

The pulled up the tarp slightly, just enough to peer inside. With a quick glance, they saw no one inside except for the guards.

"What are you two doing there?" Behind them stood a large 'Claw. When they turned, he switched his lantern to full strength. The holo projector, unused to such a change in light, short-circuited. They were now available for all to see.

"INTRUDERS!" The Sharpclaw was screaming at the top of his lungs. Half a dozen 'Claws were there in a second, with more on the way.

James turned to Christy. "Looks like we have to fight our way out."

He drew his longblades; she drew her blaster. They turned until they could see the gate. It was a long ways off, but they had no choice.

"Ready?" James gave his sis a sideways glance.

"Ready."

They waited until two stepped forward. "Now," James screamed. They leaped over them together; James burying his blade into one's face, Christy blasting another's. As soon as they landed, James charged forward, slashing 'Claws out of the way. Christy stood back and shot the 'Claws to the side that were starting to close in on them.

They were half-way to the hole. Without warning, the Sharpclaws parted, letting way for a large beast-of-a-Sharpclaw. He stood a foot over the rest and had a shield along with his sword. This was going to be interesting.

James, who was slightly ahead of Christy, was the first to reach him. He tried slashing, but the 'Claw simply held up his shield.

He started slowly circling the giant. He glanced back towards Christy. She started charging up her blaster, winking at him at the same time.

He continued circling until the beast was directly between James and Christy. At this point he stopped. The 'Claw just stared at him, puzzled. "Bye-bye." James mouthed the words just before Christy blasted its head off with a full-powered shot.

Christy ran forward to him, the 'Claw disappearing just as she approached it. They turned and continued their strategy until they came to the hole.

Just before they could get in, two giant 'Claws jumped in front of them. Christy again started charging her blaster, but James had to first dispatch one of them. He jumped. Curling into a ball, he pulled a small dagger from his shoe. As he approached, he buried it into one of the two throats, killing him. The other turned to see him fly into the tunnel, barely missing the roof. Sadly, he did not get to see James land because, by then, he had no head.

James landed in a crouch. He stood just as the second giant 'Claw disappeared. He turned his head to see if Christy was coming for the tunnel.

As he turned a Sharpclaw came up behind her and grabbed her around the stomach and held a dagger against her throat. "Drop your weapon," it hissed.

James took a step closer, but the Sharpclaw pressed the blade tighter. When he saw that he could not do anything without risking Christy, he started leaning towards the floor. As he placed the blades on the ground he pressed a small button on his wrist, which drew out a small handle into his right palm. Christy saw the movment. "You better know how to use that." Her breath was horse, but one couldn't talk very well when a knife is against your throat.

James slowly stood as the Sharpclaw gave his next demand. "Now come slowly. Don't make me kill her."

James began to walk towards them, but after a few steps, he stopped.

"Keep moving."

He quickly threw up his arm and squeezed the handle. Out of his wrist flew a tiny dart which struck the 'Claw dead in the forehead. After about a second, it fell. The moment it released its grip, Christy sprang up to James. They both began running for the exit, the Sharpclaws in hot pursuit.

After the first turn, Christy dropped a small sphere onto the ground. James looked back, then at his sister. "What was that?"

She quickly glanced at him. "A small surprise."

James didn't even turn when he heard the explosion.

Soon they reached the exit. They both went behind the door and pushed it closed. Christy then stood back and fired several shots at the seams, melting the metal. The metal then hardened, fusing the door with the rock. The next sound they heard was several heads banging against a metal door.

James leaned against the door, exhausted by their run. "Just another dead end. We can't just keep trying doors. There on to us now."

Christy sat down beside him, a small grin on her face. "It wasn't completely useless." She held up a small radio. It was round and had the Sharpclaw symbol over the microphone. "It was inside of the tent. I can probably use its signal to find another base."

James grinned. He unstrapped his wrist com and handed it to her. "Use this."

She pulled a wire out of the com and attached it to the radio. After a few seconds, a map of Sauria appeared on the screen along with four small, red dots.

"I'm getting four signals:" Christy pointed to each one as she identified them, "one from right here, obviously, another from Moon Mountain Pass, one from Cape Claw, and another from DarkIce Mines."

"If Scales is the one digging up that special ore, he would probably be in the mines." James was again thinking aloud.

Christy turned to him. "What makes you think he's the one doing the mining?"

"I just think that he's the only one with enough intelligence on Sauria to organize something like this." It made sense. Scales had taken over Sauria once before, and he could do it again.

Christy stood. "So I guess we're off to DarkIce." She handed him back his wrist com, which he repositioned before getting up.

"I guess so. But we better rest tonight."

Christy looked up at the sky. It was almost twilight now. "I guess you're right. I'm going to take a bath."

"Wait till I get inside." James turned and ran back to the ship. Christy just laughed as she started to get undressed.


	12. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**SnowHorn Wastes all over Again**

**A/N: Sorry, but this is just a filler chapter.**

Christy walked up the bank of the river towards the ship. The water had been slightly warm, so she had had a comfortable bath. She ducked low so that James could not see her naked body if he looked out. She put on her old clothes when she reached them; she would get a fresh outfit inside. Her fur was still wet, but not wet enough to do any harm.

As she strolled into the ship, she saw James in the ship's small armory, looking through the weapons. He was currently pulling a few small daggers off the shelf and tucking them into his sleeve. She kept going until she came to the sleeping room. She pulled out another suit identical to the one she was wearing and changed.

When she came back, James was still going over his weapons. His back was to the door, so he didn't see her come in. "Thanks," she spoke softly.

James didn't flinch or turn. "For what?"

"For saving me from that Sharpclaw."

He stopped. After only a moment he continued what he was doing. "I'm sure you would do the same for me."

"Hmm." She walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a sniper rifle. It was an older model, only the second energy snipers designed. It was large and clunky, but Christy knew its hidden abilities. Its range was almost unmatched and it was the quietest rifles available.

She strapped the holster across her back and adjusted the straps until it was snug. She took it off and put it back in the cabinet. She would get it out again when they were ready to leave.

James stood and walked to the door. "We've only got a few hours left, so I'm goin' to get some sleep."

He walked over to the sleeping quarters and closed the door. Christy simply stood in the armory, thinking. After the door was closed, she stood there for a moment. "Good night." She whispered to thin air.

James was up and ready before sun rose. Christy, on the other hand, slept until dawn and was just starting to get her weapons together.

"Hurry up. We've got to get going." James was shouting from the bottom of the ramp.

"Hold on," she called back.

After a few minutes, she ran done the ramp to stand beside him. She had the sniper across her back, her blaster on her hip, several bombs down her leg, and a small disc launcher. James had simply reloaded what he had lost the day before.

The pair did not want to risk going into another tunnel, lest they end up inside another base. Instead, they would go through SnowHorn Wastes. It would probably take three times as long, but it was safer.

There were two ways to get to the wastes: by teleporting through the Warp Stone, and by walking and swimming through a long tunnel. They decided the use the warp stone, because it was easier.

The hole that their father had originally made to access the stone was still there, so it was simply a short swim and walk away. As they passed through hole, the stone looked down at them glaringly.

"What do you want?" His voice was a deep bass with what sounded like a strong Irish accent.

James looked up at him. "We want you to take us to SnowHorn Wastes."

The stone through back his head and laughed. "'N why should I help you?"

Christy stepped between them. "We're Fox and Krystal's children, and we'd greatly appreciate your help. You see, they've been captured."

The stone brought his hand to his chin in thought. "Ahhh. I see. Very well. I'll help ya'." The two walked around and stepped onto the big circle, which rose up several yards. The Warp Stone held up his hand for the kids. James went first. As he stepped on, the stone asked if he was ready. He nodded his head.

The stone lowered his head and started to close his fist. As he did, a bright, blue light appeared inside of his hand, engulfing James. As the light got brighter, the hand closing around him lost focus. Soon, the hand disappeared, and James was spinning in some dark void. After a few seconds, a new image started to appear. He couldn't figure out what it was at first, but as it spread around him, it quickly came into focus. Through the light, he could see a small room with one large doorway.

Soon, he was landing on a round, glowing platform inside of the chamber. His head though was still spinning, so he could not help but fall to the ground. After he lay there for a few seconds, he was able to get back to his feat. Just as he did, another light appeared over the platform, informing him that Christy was on her way.

She soon appeared over the landing spot, but also lost her balance. James caught her before she hit the ground, though. She slowly opened her eyes. "What happened?"

"You fell. At least you had someone to catch you."

She stood up and started walking towards the entrance. Her head was still a bit woozy, though, so she again lost her footing and slipped.

She landed with a soft thud. The snow on the ground softened her fall a bit, but also made her shiver. She tried standing again to escape the cold, but the snow clung to her fur.

James came over and brushed most of it off. She glanced at him. "That's two I owe you."

He simply smiled as they headed out of the cave.

They came out on a long cliff sticking off of a mountain with a small wall over across the open side. At the far end was a small cave and a closed off section that contained supplies and a large cannon. Just passed the cave was a large metal and wood door with a red target a short ways above. Directly across from the door was a gap in the wall leading into a long pathway.

Christy, remembering their parent's stories, pulled up her gun and shot the target. The door instantly opened to reveal a large cave. Inside were a single Sharpclaw and a small hover bike. The Sharpclaw had his back against a wall, sleeping peacefully. Again, Christy pulled up her gun and dispatched it before it could wake up. James went over to the bike and inspected it.

"It's in good condition. We can use it to get down that path." He dexterously jumped on and revved the engines.

Christy took a step back. "Should I trust you?"

He pulled to bike up next to her. "I don't think you have much of a choice."

Reluctantly, she climbed aboard.

James turned the bike to the entrance and pushed the throttle. The bike shot out of the cave and onto the path.

On the trip down, several trees and rocks blocked the path. James had to execute quick turns to avoid the debris, almost sending Christy flying several times. Soon they came to a fork in the path. James pulled the bike to a halt and turned back to Christy. She was already pushing buttons on her wrist com. After a few seconds she held up a finger pointing down the right pathway.

James turned the bike down the appropriate path and let off the brake. Gravity pulled the bike down at enough speed. After several twists in the path, James could feel an obvious rise in temperature.

As he came around a large U-turn in the path, he could see a bright red glow around the next turn. As he came to the turn, he pressed the brake, slowing the bike to a crawl.

As the bike made the turn, Christy and James stared over a large, open-roofed cavern. They were on a small ledge with a walkway winding across the cavern. But as they stared, there was one major thing they noticed: the large lake of lava, who-knows-how-deep, at the floor.

The pair knew that they had reached the fringes of DarkIce Mines.

_Next:_

_Chapter 11_

_DarkIce Mines_


	13. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

DarkIce Mines

The two stood for a moment, staring out over the large lake of lava. The only way across was by using the thin, rock walkway. But at several places, flares erupted scorching sections of the path. At other places, small rocks jumped up out of the lava and flew only inches above the rock. James could only look and stare. "_Now I remember this place. Dad told us about it. Too bad he didn't go into much detail."_

"What's that?" Christy was pointing to something on the far, left wall. It was a small, metallic ring, attached to the wall but jutting out. At its base was a large box.

"It's obviously some kind of machinery."

She gave him a glare. "Ya' think?"

Suddenly a blue light formed in the center of the circle. As the kids watched, it grew larger and brighter. From out of nowhere, a Sharpclaw fell out of the light and plummeted into the molten rock. Christy gasped, but when the Sharpclaw started to submerge without moving, James assumed it was dead. "I guess we now know where they send those that die."

Christy watched it burn and slowly vanish. After a few moments she recollected herself. "I guess we better get moving." She began walking towards the pathway.

"Hold on." James stepped in front of her, his tail brushing against her chest. "I'll go first. Once I've tested it, you can come across."

She gave him a nod. James nodded back and began walking.

The path began by circling around the outer wall on the left, giving him an all-too-clear view off the teleporter. James could only wonder how many live or innocent people had come through that machine, only to fall to their painful death. But he couldn't think about that now. He had to keep moving.

The path continued circling until he came to the center of the room. Up ahead, the path turned the opposite directed and ran along side itself, eventually turning off to the exit.

As James crossed the large platform that marked the middle of the room, he stopped.

"What's wrong?" Christy had her paws cupped to her muzzle trying to get James to hear her.

James half-turned his head towards her. "Do you hear something?"

"Yah. I do," she hollered back.

Slowly, the soft growl that James had heard began to get stronger. Quickly, it grew into a loud roar. The entire room seamed to be shaking.

Without warning, a giant stream of lava spewed up right at the spot James was standing.

At first, James thought that the rock would protect him. But soon the rock began to glow red with heat. He leaped off of the spot, just missing the lava that came erupting through the newly formed hole.

He began to run. The platform in the center of the room was supporting most of the path. If he didn't make it to the next support beam, he would be joining those in the lake. Slowly the hole began to expand as chunks of rock fell from the walkway.

James looked down at the path just in time to see the rock a few yards ahead begin to glow. He picked up his speed. James came to the spot just as it began to glow white. As he leapt, the lava broke through. He went into a ball, missing the lava by mere millimeters.

When he landed, he turned back to see that the path was no longer crumbling. "_Oh boy. How is Christy supposed to get across?"_ "OK Christy. Let's find a way to get you across."

He turned back to the ledge where she was standing, but he couldn't see her. "CHRISTY?"

"I'm over here."

James spun around to see Christy standing on the opposite ledge. His jaw dropped. "How did you get over there?" he howled.

"There's a small outcropping running along the wall. I simply used it to come across."

Even after her explanation, James's jaw didn't move. But only for a few seconds. "YOU LET ME RUN ACROSS THAT TINY PATH AND ALMOST GET KILLED AND YOU SIMPLY WALK ON A SMALL LEDGE AND NOT HAVE TO DO ANYTING?"

She simply stood there. "Yep. By the way, you might want to check your tail."

"What's wrong with it?" He brought his tail forward as he looked down. A large section of fur was missing from one side and the hairs around it had been singed black. "Ah man. It'll take me weeks to grow that back."

"Forget it." Christy turned around. "Let's get moving."

The group began walking through the tunnel. After walking through a small S-curve they came out in a large field. There were several tents positioned on the sides of the pathway with a few fires here and there. The next thing they noticed, however, shocked them. It was a large Snowhorn, chained to a large peg in the ground.

"Help me."

They both ran over to her. James knelt down to examine the lock while Christy talked. After a moment of searching it over, James stood. "It needs an old-fashion turn key. One of the Sharpclaw generals probably has it. There's no way to unlock it otherwise."

Christy turned to him. "Felina told me that the path into the mines is almost unblocked. There's a long tunnel going around the main gait, but we'll need a bike to get through it."

He gave her a nod and turned to Felina. "Are there any guard stations around?"

"Only a few. They shouldn't be too much of a problem."

"Are there any mining operations going on?"

"Yes." It looked as if Felina was getting scared. "A big one. About five years ago, Scales sent a large amount of money off to some other planet. In return, several scientists were sent back to help with some engine. But that's all I know."

"Thanks. We'll come back for you later."

Christy grabbed his arm when he tried to walk off. "We're not just going to leave her here, are we?"

James grabbed her arm. "Even if we could let her out, it would be stupid. A guard would probably notice a prisoner missing and sound an alarm. It's better for our cover if we just leave her here."

"He's right."

Christy looked up at Felina.

"Just go."

Christy looked back down at the floor. "Alright." She turned back to James. "But that means we're even."

He just shrugged his shoulders. "Fine."

The pair continued down the path. As Felina had said, there were a few guard towers, set every five hundred yards or so. They didn't cause much of a problem, though, because Christy simply sniped the guards from a distance. Occasionally, they had to stop and calm down a few Snowhorns, begging to be released. But of course, they couldn't, seeing as how they had no key and it would probably cause an alarm.

It had been an hour and a half since James and Christy had first arrived at DarkIce Mines and they still could not find a way underground. They were walking through a large, snow covered field, each side blocked off by high walls of rocks.

James turned back towards his sister. "Any idea on how much further?"

She looked down and began pushing a few buttons. After a second, sighed in frustration. "There's some kind of interference. I can't get anything past a few hundred yards."

"Drat," he said silently. He began scanning for the edge of the field. He swung his head to one side, when something caught his eye. "Christy, do a scan for any tunnels in the area."

She pressed a few more buttons. "There's one very close by, but it doesn't open on this end. Why?" When she looked up, James was running toward the wall. "James?" She ran after him.

When she finally caught up to him, she saw why he had asked. At a small spot in the wall, there were several rocks placed onto each other, forming a type of primitive barrier. When Christy checked her comp, it was directly in front of where the tunnel ended. "I can probably blow a hole in the rocks to the tunnel." She pulled out her blaster and began charging it.

"No. It might attract a few guards." He walked closer to the rocks. "We might be able to make this look natural." He placed his hand on the rocks and began feeling around. After thirty seconds of looking, he found it. A small rock wedged underneath of two big ones. "Get back," he said. When Christy was a safe distance away, he pulled out his knife and jabbed it behind the small rock. As quickly as he had put it in, he yanked the blade out, pulling the rock with it. At the same time, he sprinted out of the way. Without the small rock for support, the larger rocks gave way, which in turn caused the ones above to fall. Within seconds, the entire wall of rocks was laying in a heap.

James crept up to the new entrance slowly, coughing as he inhaled the dust. "Christy?" _Cough _"See if you can figure out how long this tunnel is and where it goes."

She walked up to stand beside him. Her wrist-comp gave out a small screech as it gave out a supersonic-type sound wave. "It will take a few minutes."

"That's fine. We're in no hurry." James' ear caught a sound coming from off in the distance. It sounded like some kind of high speed bike. _"Some guards must have heard the rocks falling."_ "Change that. Go fast."

"Done." She held her comp over for him to see it. "The tunnel is about a mile long. It goes down about fifteen hundred feet in a long spiral. I'm guessing this is the tunnel Felina was telling us about."

The bikes weren't very far off now. James began looking around. A few yards away was a large fallen tree. "Come on." He grabbed Christy's arm as he began to jog.

Christy tried to resist. "Don't we need to go to the tunnel?"

"Yes, but we need bikes."

He jumped over the log then turned and helped Christy over.

"But there's someone coming. If they're guards and they see us, they'll sound an alarm."

James turned to her. "I know. I want them to find us."


	14. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**Into the Belly of the Beast**

"I want them to find us."

Christy nearly exploded. "You what?! If they find us…"

"Then we can steal their bikes."

"Ahhh."

With that, they both went silent and waited the last few seconds it took for the bikes to come into view. Surprisingly, there were only two. They immediately drove to the cave and stopped a few meters from it. Both of the Sharpclaws dismounted and slowly walked a few feet into the cave. James drew out one of his throwing daggers and motioned for Christy to draw her blaster, which she did.

By now, the Sharpclaws had not found anything and were walking out. With a flick of the wrist, James' knife flew straight into the first's forehead. Not a split second after, Christy stood and blasted the other in the chest repeatedly.

After both had disappeared in the normal blue light, they jogged to their newly-claimed bikes.

James gave his a quick inspection and mounted. As he was reaching down for the ignition, Christy walked over.

"Hold on a moment." She opened a side panel and fumbled through some wires. Behind a second set of wires was a small box, about one cubic centimeter in volume. She felt around and pressed a small button on one side. James heard a faint sound, like a machine dying.

"What was that about?" he asked as she closed the panel.

"Tracking device. A small, older model, but good enough to track something all over the planet. I figured that they would plant a few of these just to be sure that the guards were doing their jobs."

"If you say so," he said with a shrug of his shoulders.

Christy found the same device in her bike and disabled it.

Finally they were ready to go. James pressed the ignition and the bike wheezed to life. After it was up to full power, he looked to Christy, who gave him a nod. After nodding back, he pressed the throttle pedal, shooting him into the tunnel. Christy followed a second after.

_Crack_

The juice that spilled from the dungledang pod fell down his leg. _"Aww, great."_

It was about midday, and Christy had insisted that they stop for a bite to eat. According to her wrist comp, they were about halfway through the tunnel. Several lanterns were hanging from the ceiling and walls, giving light to large areas of the black rock. As he began eating the pod, he began to think.

"Are you o.k.?" Christy asked. "You've been kind of quiet."

Her voice brought him back from somewhere else. "Yah. Just thinking."

"What about?" Christy began eating her pod.

"About what Felina had said. About the scientists coming to work on some engine. Do you happen to know who was working on Light engines five years ago?"

Christy began to think. She had to learn several major companies when she was in school, so it shouldn't have been hard, but she had trouble remembering. "I think it might have been Corkstar Industries."

"Aren't they based on Corneria… I mean Lylat City?" James' father always called it by it's former name. It was a habit that never died.

"Yah. Near the Republican House."

"Huh." James thought for a moment more. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Sauria one of the first planets to secede?"

"Along with Aquas, yes. Where are you going with all of this?"

James brought his hand to his chin. "Just trying to build a theory." He let his hand drop and took another bite of his dumbledang pod. After a few minutes of silence, he threw the empty shell onto the floor and walked to his bike. "We'd better get moving. The others have probably sent out a search party."

Christy threw her shell, some meat still left inside, onto the ground and got up. As she walked to her bike, she brushed some dirt from her pants and tail. "You think that they would clean this place up a little."

James sighed and shook his head. _"Girls."_

The pair mounted their bikes and continued down the tunnel.

It had been half an hour and still the tunnel showed no sign of ending. _"How much further can this thing go?"_

Christy's comp beeped several times. She quickly glanced down at it and then brought her eyes back up. "The tunnel ends after that next turn." She pointed to a sharp corner a hundred yards ahead and closing fast. "We'd better stop here and walk so that they don't hear anything."

Both stopped and got off of their bikes. Only now did James notice the change in color. The color created by the light was more whitish than the light coming from around the corner.

When they rounded the corner, James had to stop for a moment and take in everything. There were kneeling just outside of an enormous cavern, at least several hundred meters high. Half a dozen pillars came out of the floor and stretched up to the ceiling, walkways connecting them on five different levels. At several places around the perimeter of the cavern were large pools of lava, some of them with small bridges spanning over them leading to other exits. The problem was that James spotted at least three dozen guards. Twenty were patrolling between the pillars while the rest were positioned on the walkways.

He leaned over to whisper to Christy. "We could try picking them off, but at least a few of them would notice."

"Let's do it anyways," she whispered back as she drew the rifle out of her back-holster.

"Do you have something I could use?" She took out her blaster and handed it to him. He was mainly a hand-to-hand fighter, but he still used guns when absolutely necessary. He flipped the gun to silent mode. It would lower the strength of the shot, but it would be harder to notice. As he took aim at his first target, he whispered another message to Christy. "Try to aim where no one is looking." As he finished, he took his first shot. The target wasn't very far away, so it was easy to get a deadly hit. When the Sharpclaw disappeared into blue light, he checked around to see if any of the others had noticed. Surprisingly, no one had seen the shot or the dying Sharpclaw.

Christy was aiming for her first shot when James stopped her. "Hold on." His mouth grew into an evil-looking grin. "Why don't we make this interesting?"

She stared at him as if he had just sprouted wings. "You want to have fun, possibly risking our lives, here?"

"Sure. I'm glad you agree."

She shook her head and gave a heavy sigh. "Ahh, well. Maybe it will take some stress off."

"O.k. We keep shooting, taking turns. The first person to get noticed, losses."

"Fine. And what does the loser have to do anyway?"

James gave a big grin. "Loser gets to charge the Sharpclaws first."

Christy rolled her eyes. "Ohh, boy."

"But, since you have a sniper rifle, you have to take distant shots and I have to take close range shots." James nodded in her direction. "It's your shot."

Christy finally smiled. "Well then, let the games begin."


	15. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**Let the Games Begin**

Another Sharpclaw erupted into a shimmering blue light as James struck it in the chest. He and Christy had been shooting from the same position for fifteen minutes, and not a single Sharpclaw had spotted them. So far, they had eliminated twenty of the 35 or so guards.

Christy took aim for her next shot. "Top of the middle spire." James looked up to the top of the column. There was one lonely Sharpclaw, all by his lonesome self walking on the topmost walkway. He was leaning over the edge, inspecting something the he could not see.

There was a small pop as Christy fired. The shot was perfect. It went straight into the beast's head. The shot, however, pushed him over the railing directly over a Sharpclaw one level lower. Both James and Christy held their breaths, both of them thinking _"Please disappear."_

The blue light appeared just as the body went into a full fall. It was falling fast as it was disappearing. Finally, it completely vanished, inches before it made contact. The Sharpclaw swung his head around, not a split second too early. After swinging his head a few times, he continued walking.

Both of the kids let out a heavy sigh. That had been just a little too close for either of them.

"Your turn." Christy spoke without turning.

He pulled up his blaster and steadied it against the rocks. The target he chose was on the far side of the room, so it was going to be a difficult shot. He checked each side and upwards to be certain that no one else was watching, then let a single bolt fly.

As if the timing could not have been worse, the Sharpclaw that James was firing at turned just as he pulled the trigger. It let out a roar a split second before being hit in the face. Every other 'Claw in the room turned to see what was causing the noise and watched the Sharpclaw vanish.

One of the Sharpclaws in the rafters started shouting to the others. "Search the area. Shoot anything that isn't supposed to be here."

Several started walking in the direction of James' and Christy's hiding place. Christy turned her head to James. "You lost. Start firing."

James let out an aggravated sigh and reluctantly flipped his blaster back to its normal setting. When the Sharpclaws were only a few yards away, he stood and quickly killed three.

That was when things got a whole lot worse. The other Sharpclaws heard the blaster and starting swarming in their direction. James was firing as fast as he could, killing five in as many seconds. He soon realized that they would be overrun in a matter of seconds. He dropped the blaster back to Christy while drawing out his swords. "Your turn."

When she caught the blaster, Christy also stood and started firing. James jumped over the rubble that had been hiding them and charged.

It ended quickly. With James doing his standard hack-n-slash, the remainder of the group was taken care of in minutes.

James started to put away his swords when another Sharpclaw walked out of a door on the upper level. On his shoulder was a large yellow tube with a box at its end. It stopped on the close side of the top level, the barrel pointed down out James. As he watched, James could see a light starting to appear deep inside of the gun, as if it were charging a shot.

He turned around to Christy. "Take him out," he said casually. _"This is getting to be too easy."_

Christy aimed her gun and fired. It was a good shot, but it didn't find its mark. As the bolt got closer, it was drawn into the yellow gun. Christy fired several more times, each being sucked down into the long barrel. With each shot, the light grew slightly brighter.

By now, James could hear a low hum coming from the Sharpclaw's general direction. The light continued to grow until it seemed to be spilling out.

James got a bad feeling down in his gut. _"How could something absorb a bolt of pure energy? Unless it's taking energy for a… oh no." _He turned and started sprinting for the tunnel. "CHRISTY. GET BACK."

He glanced back over his shoulder. The light was getting pulled back into the gun. He didn't have much time left. Suddenly, an enormous blast exploded out of the cannon. It was closing in on him very quickly. He leapt as hard as his legs would let him. He cleared the initial blast of the cannon by landing behind their small wall of rubble, but James knew it would not hold for long. He rolled to the side, again just missing the blast be mere centimeters. He could feel his clothes get hot for being so close the energy.

As the blast faded, he dropped to his knees. He was surprised to find that such a small challenge had made him run out of breath. Christy was standing with her back against the wall, holding her gun across her chest. "What…was that?" he was able to ask between heavy breaths.

"I don't know," she said with a shake of her head. "I've never seen anything like this. Only studied something slightly similar."

He raised his head and pulled one leg up so that he was on one knee. "And?"

"It's not nearly this powerful," she said with another shake of her head. She thought for a moment before continuing, "We can probably overload it. If we can give the gun more energy after it's absorbed enough…" She was cut off as another blast hit the wall. For several seconds the walls shook and dust fell from the ceiling. James was afraid it was going to collapse, but the tunnel held. "There would be too much energy for the gun to hold."

Finally rested, James stood. He turned to her. "You or me?"

She expertly flipped him the gun. "You lost the bet."

James groaned and set the blaster to its highest level. He crept to the hole and stuck his head around the corner. The Sharpclaw was already charging the gun for its next shot. He stepped out into the open and started firing. The first few shots he let off were absorbed right away. Then the light began to get pulled back in. He kept firing, sending seven more shots down the gun's barrel. He stopped and prepared to jump behind the wall. The gun pulled all of the energy in for the shot, but just before the energy could be released, the rear of the cannon exploded. The Sharpclaw, who didn't know what was happening, was pushed over the railing by the force of the explosion. He fell and landed on the ground, head first, with a crack.

Christy stepped out from behind the wall and checked the room. "Nice work. You're not too bad with a blaster after all."

"Ha-ha. I think we should try the top doors first."

"Fine by me."

They walked over to the center column and started the climb up. There was a ladder reaching from the floor to the uppermost walkway. When they reached the second highest platform, they had to go to the next column: the walkway had been completely destroyed.

When they finally reached the top, they could only reach one exit. At the end of the walkway was a large metal door with a metal, Sharpclaw head statue at its center. Surprisingly, there was no lock, so they were able to simply walk through.

The room they entered into was like a small cathedral. The roof curved in a dome shape and three pillars on each side of the room held it up. The walls were unadorned, only the bottom half of the wall was covered with a red-stripped design. In the center of the room was a large throne-like chair. And sitting in it, was Scales. He had his hands folded in his lap, his head down, and his eyes closed.

Christy ran halfway to the throne and stopped. "Scales. Where are our parents?"

Scales opened his eyes and laughed. His voice was deep. "What ever are you talking about?"

James stepped up beside Christy. "Quit the charade. We know your holding them."

"Perhaps I am. But you may never know." Without warning, he leaped out of his chair and drew a long sword. James and Christy barely had time to jump out of the way before Scales landed, his blade where James had been a split second earlier. Christy pulled up her blaster and fired a few shots at his legs. Scales simply moved his free hand in their path. A small energy disk appeared over his wrist, intercepting the bolts. Using the distraction, James jumped from behind Scales, blades drawn. He held one back, ready to slice off Scales' arm. With agility that someone like him shouldn't have had, Scales spun and blocked the blow with a single swing. James brought the other blade around with the first in a double downward slash. Scales pulled his sword up a caught both blades. He pushed his face to within inches of James snout. "Your father caused me great anguish. Now **you** will pay for **his** actions."

James leapt back, doing a handstand flip to gain more ground. Without wasting a second he charged. He held his blades back, one on either side, preparing for a pincer slash. Just before he made contact, Scales hopped to one side and used his sword to direct the blow away from him.

Christy, who had worked her way behind Scales, opened fire on him. As if he had seen it coming, Scales spun and used his shields to absorb the shots. James charged at him again. This time Scales parried the blows and grabbed James' wrists, hoisting him into the air. James threw his leg up, kicking Scales square in the jaw. Scales dropped him and stepped back, his hand massaging his new wound. James picked up one of his blades and spun back to Scales. He pulled up his blade just in time to intercept a swing from Scales. The two fought for a moment, their swords crossed. Christy stood to the side, afraid to risk hitting James if she fired, but keeping her aim.

Scales laughed. "You have as much strength as your father. It appears we are evenly matched." He finished his sentence by pressing harder.

James pressed back. "I guess it does."

"Humph. Tell me, James, are you much of a sporting man?"

"Why?" He had to end this quickly; he was starting to get tired.

"How about a challenge? Your life for your father's location." Scales jumped back several feet. "Do you accept?"

James thought for a moment. "What kind of challenge?"

Scales laughed again and formed an evil grin. "Are you familiar with the Krazoa Shrines?" James nodded. "That is how the challenge will be set. A race. Choose now if you accept."

"_If I don't accept this, how will I find Dad? But I don't want to lose."_

He looked to Christy. She was staring at him with a frightened face. She closed her eyes and gave him a nod.

He nodded back then turned back to Scales. "I will accept your challenge. My life for the location of my father."

"Good." Scales raised his arms. The ground began to shake. James crouched low to keep his balance, never taking his eyes off of Scales. The walls slowly began to rise. On the other side, several poles rose up from the ground along with short bridges. They were set in two rows around the perimeter of the room. Behind the throne on the far side of the room, a small walkway connected the main floor to the first platform. When the walls stopped moving, Scales threw his head back. "Let the game begin."


	16. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

**James vs. Scales**

Scales crouched low to the ground. With one mighty jump, he was able to fly over the throne chair and land halfway to the bridge, where he continued walking. Not to be outdone, James ran towards the chair. When he got close enough, he jumped upwards, flipping in midair, and caught the chair's back. He pulled sharply, spinning his body to land on his feet. Scales laughed as James ran the rest of the way. "Hm, hm, hm. This is going to be interesting."

As James got closer to the edge of the previous room, he saw that there was no floor in the new area. It simply dropped off where the wall was. As he walked across the bridge, which Scales had already crossed, he peered down into the abyss. He could not see any bottom.

Scales stood in front of one of two rows of pillars. "Now you see your fate if you are not able to defeat me." He pointed out across the pillars where several rings were appearing. There were two colors, blue and red, which formed two paths which criss-crossed along the circular path. "I will use the red rings. You will use the blue. You must go through each ring in order. And watch out for surprises." Scales made on evil chuckle, which sent shivers down James' spine.

"_This shouldn't be too hard," _James thought. _"It doesn't seem very different from the obstacle courses at the Academy. I just hope that I have enough strength left."_

He stopped in front of his row and got into a crouching sprinter's stance. Two finals rings materialized in front of the platform, reddish in color. "We go on the green," Scales explained. The rings slowly changed from a red to orange, then from orange to blue.

Instantly, the rings shifted to green. James was caught off guard, and Scales shot off several seconds ahead of him. The first fifty yards were simple, just jump from one pillar to the next. James tried repeatedly to catch up, but Scales always stayed ahead. While jumping to the twelfth pillar, James noticed several cracks running through the stone. As soon as his foot landed, he knew he was in trouble. The rock crumbled from underneath of him. He tried to leap to the next pillar, but he only managed to push the rocks down faster. He quickly began falling. Luckily, he was able to just grab the next pillar with his right hand, his chest slamming against the cold stone. A shot of pain ran through his arm. He had never had to pull such a maneuver. When he looked up, he saw blood slithering down the side of the pillar. He pulled up with his arm and swung up his other arm. The pull sent fresh pain through his hand. With a grimace, he somehow managed to pull himself up to his chest, which allowed him to pull his elbows up onto the pillar.

Scales was standing five pillars ahead of him. He stood with his arms crossed over his chest, laughing. "If you couldn't see that, you won't last half way."

Clenching his teeth to hold off the pain, he pulled himself up. His hand had a thick gash through the middle segment of each finger. _"He's goin' to pay for that."_ He stayed on his knees for a few seconds to catch his breath, and then stood. He glared at Scales. "I won't fall for that stunt again." He quickly sprinted over several pillars, clearing three in two seconds. Scales turned and started running, but he was not fast enough; James came right up beside him.

Ahead, the rings began criss-crossing each other. James realized that if one of them didn't get a lead on the other, they would collide. James decided to try something drastic. When they reached the first rings, James jump ahead and went through his ring first. But instead of landing on top of the next pillar, he planted his foot on the near side and propelled himself though the next. He continued this maneuver and slowly but surely gained ground on Scales. As they came out of that section, James was two pillars ahead.

James was now halfway through the course. He came to another long stretch. _"Why would he say I wouldn't last past half if halfway is just another long stretch?"_ As he landed on the next pillar, he felt something under him lower. From somewhere in the wall, a tongue of flame erupted toward the pillars. James picked up pace and leapt ahead, just missing the hot flames. When he landed, several more jets of erupted in the gaps between the next several pillars. James had to leap over each one, clearing each by only a few inches each. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Scales slowly gain a small lead on him. By the time the flames finally abated, Scales had gained a one pillar lead.

For the final bend in the course, there were many platforms moving around over a large gap, held in place by some invisible force. The platforms moved in straight lines, some up and down, some side to side. What confused James was that there was only one ring, directly in front of the first platform. No others were to be seen.

The first platform rose, forcing James to slow his pace slightly. When he reached the ring, the small square was in the perfect position. He found the next block, directly in front of him and got ready to jump. Above him, another ring appeared several stories up. _"Ay, great."_ We swung his head around until he found a platform stop about three feet away. He jumped aboard just as the platform began to rise. He made his way up to the ring, jumping from one platform to the next. When he jumped through the ring, another appeared half-way down on the far side. _"At this rate, it will take me forever!"_ He jumped down to the ring as fast as he could find the path. This time, the next ring was all the way at the top, twice the height of the previous ring. James wasted no time in jumping to the first platform. After five or six, he saw another ring appear next to his. It was red. _"That means Scales has caught up to me."_ Just as he approached the ring, Scales jumped up beside him. "Ha, ha, ha. You'll never win against me!" Scales landed on a platform, and jumped again, spinning as he did so. His massive tail spun like helicopter blades, slamming James in the chest and sending him careening into the side of one of the floating platforms.

It took him a moment to summon the strength to stand. When he looked up, he saw Scales standing next to James' ring. Scales' had vanished, telling James that he had already gotten through. Scales laughed. "You'll never win. Your father couldn't defeat me, and you can't either."

James jumped the last few platforms to his ring. When he reached the level, Scales began to descend once again. James hopped through his ring and spotted the next one. It was directly in front of the final stretch, a long bridge leading to the finish, all the way down. James started jumping down, bypassing several platforms to get down quickly, when he got an idea. _"I'll beat you Scales, but I'll win by your rules." _Scales had landed on the last platform and was jumping through the ring. James landed a platform only a few meters out and jumped instantly, releasing a small dagger as he did.

The small knife stuck into the rock directly in front of Scales foot. He never had time to jump over. On collision, Scales tumbled into a giant heap, feet away from the finish line. James quickly bounded past and crossed the final gap, grasping the win.

Christy ran across the bridge, grabbing him in a bear hug. He hugged her back for a second, and then collapsed on the floor. He began taking in huge breaths of air until Scales crossed to them. He stood, staring him right in the eye. "I won. Where are our parents?"

Scales glared back at him. "You won through trickery." Then, to James' surprise, he smiled. "I like that. You would have made a good apprentice." His voice was just loud enough for them to hear, and Scales' voice had a tinge of envy, it seamed.

"Answer the question." It took all of James' strength to keep form screaming.

"Very well. They are on Titania. At the Synthan Spire."

"Great. Let's go," said Christy as she started to walk out.

"Hold on," James said. "How do we know we can trust you?"

"I didn't think you would trust me." He held up one palm of his hand, a small circular device sitting on it. A projection appeared of a large octagonal pyramid with jagged sides. The image zoomed to the point, not actually a point, but a large plateau. At the center were seven wooden crosses. As the camera zoomed in closer, James and Christy were shocked to see Fox and Crystal suspended on the two closest to them.

The image vanished, leaving Christy with her mouth gaping. James took a step forward. "Why are you doing this?" This time, he let himself scream.

"Your father caused me much pain and torment. Now he is paying for it." His voice was filled with hate, and it showed in his eyes. "But I would hurry. A few more days in Titania's desert heat, and you may not find much."

"Come on, James. We've got to hurry." Christy again turned to leave.

"Just a moment." He held up his hand to signal her to wait. "One more question Scales. How much does that ore sell for these days?"

Again Scales made that evil laugh deep inside his throat. "I'm the only one who sells it. The price is whatever I want it to be."

James nodded. "I see." He turned and stepped up beside Christy. "Let's go," he said just as he started to run. She pressed several buttons on her wrist comp that would fly the ship to them, allowing them to leave quickly.

As they left, Scales held up his wrist. "There just leaving. Get ready," he spoke into a small communicator on his wrist.

A voice on the other side came through. "I'll be waiting."

James and Christy had boarded the cruiser and took off as quickly as they could. Only after they had left the atmosphere did Christy remember about Max. "Don't worry," James reasoned. "He'll be fine. We'll come get him after we save Mom and Dad."

"Alright. You know, all things considered, that wasn't very hard."

"Yeah," he whispered to himself as he stared out the window at the shrinking planet. "But something makes me feel like it was just a bit too easy."


	17. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

**On Top of the World**

The ship came out of the warp over Titania, a red, barren desert planet. James, Christy, and ROB were standing on the deck, watching the planet gradually grow smaller. "ROB, where's the Synthan Spire?" he asked in louder-than-needed voice.

"Locating." A large red target ring zoomed in on an area just south of the equator. "There. 5 degrees south latitude, 128 degrees west longitude."

"We should get down there as fast as we can," Christy explained worriedly.

"Don't worry." James put his arm lightly around her. "We'll save them in time. Then we'll go back and get Scales."

"There is currently a storm positioned over the spire," ROB's robotic voice exclaimed. "You will not be able to land."

"How much time until the storm passes?" James asked, not taking his eyes off of the front monitor.

"Approximate time to storm passing: four hours, thirteen minutes."

"Alright." James let him arm drop from around Christy. "I'm going to get something to eat and take a quick nap. Wake me when the storm passes." As he walked through the door, he stretched his arms over his head and yawned.

"I think I'll join you. I haven't eaten since we left for DarkIce," Christy said, walking up beside him. "ROB, let us know if the storm passes ahead of schedule."

ROB's head rotated around as he continued pushing buttons. "Affirmative."

It actually took the storm half an hour longer than expected to pass, and when ROB sounded the siren, James was ready to go. When he arrived at the rear docking bay, Christy was waiting for him. She had changed from her standard suit and was now wearing a skimpy skirt the barely went five inches below her hips. Her shirt was also non-issue; a belly shirt that left three quarters of her stomach open and small straps that went over her shoulders, leaving most of her shoulders and chest bare.

James, who was still wearing his uniform, raised an eyebrow. "Not exactly standard issue is it?" he asked jokingly.

"It was on sale, so of course I had to have it. Besides, it's much cooler." She raised her arms slightly and spun around, showing off her outfit. The back, like the front, was left mostly open, leaving the top half uncovered.

James sighed and shook his head. "Lovely," he commented sarcastically. "Let's go."

They boarded the ship without another word and flew down to the planet. As the lowered below the red clouds, they got their first glimpse of Titania's desert. In all directions, the red and orange sands expanded beyond view. Off to the east, the remnants of the storm could be seen, lightning flashes illuminating every few seconds. And there, directly in front of them, stood the Synthan Spire.

Christy changed their course to land them directly on the plateau. She brought the ship in quickly, pulling up sharply as she approached the rock. Surprisingly, for such a quick landing, it was well done; James could hardly feel a bump.

James was ready and out town the ramp before it even had time to completely lower. He quickly ran out several yards from the ship and started to look around. The sun was bright, and he had to cover his eyes with his hand and squint to block out the light. Without finding any results, he pulled his binoculars from his hip pouch and continued scanning. Again, he found nothing.

Christy jogged to him just as he let his arm hang limp, the binoculars almost falling to the ground. "Nothing," was all he could manage to whisper.

She pulled the binocs from his hand and took a look for herself. She pointed he hand up in one direction. "I think I see something." James took the binocs back and looked to where she was pointing. "The sand is darker in one area." He finally saw what she saw: a small area of dirt that appeared to be several shades darker than the area around it.

James shoved the binoculars back in his pouch and started running, Christy following after a second. It took several minutes of running to reach the area. It was exactly what it appeared to be: dark area of dirt and sand.

James stopped in the center of the dark area. Christy, who could not keep up with him, came up next to him in a few minutes, breathless. James had a deep scowl on his face. "That Scales! He tricked us!"

Christy continued to look around. "Maybe they were here, but they left. You never know. He could have been telling the truth."

He spun around in a heartbeat, staring her in the face. "Don't you dare take his side!" he yelled jamming his finger at her. After a second he put his hand down. "I'm sorry. I just hate being outdone," he said with a growl.

"I know." She patted his shoulder and walked off to see what she could find.

James stood like a statue for several minutes. When he finally began searching, he couldn't find a single clue. Christy even tried to use a molecular scanner to find any trace of some foreign visitor, but found nothing. After an hour of searching, they finally decided to give up.

"Let's get back to the ship," said a very sweaty James. After being in the sun for an hour, his fur and outfit were soaked.

"Alright," said Christy, whose skimpy skirt and shirt were almost completely dry. "I guess we should go back and get Scales…again."

As James started walking, he started talking to himself. "Oh, I'm going to get him for tricking me."

From behind him he heard a loud _thud._ When he spun his head around, he saw Christy lying on her stomach. "I don't think this is the time to lie down."

She used her arms to sit up. "Ha, ha, very funny. Something tripped me." She turned her head around and saw a small lump on the ground. She swiveled to it and brushed off a layer of dirt to reveal small a metal mound. "That's odd. Where did this come from?" Then she looked down at her shirt. "IT RUINED MY OUTFIT!!" She quickly jumped up and began to dust herself off.

James simply rolled his eyes; _"Girls," _he thought. He walked past her and knelt to examine the metal. It was simply a lump of metal, very smooth metal, which made James curious. He began to finger the edges and found a small seam between the rock and the metal. Dusting the sand aside, he was barely able to work his nail underneath and pry the lump up. What he found in its place was a small hole, six-by-six inches and perfectly square. _"That's not natural."_ "Hey Christy, take a look at this."

"What?" she asked annoyingly. She saw the hole and got a curios look. "What could that be for?"

"My guess is the crosses. There are probably quite a few around here. That means that they did come here."

"They must have done one major cleanup for my scanner to miss them. Now we just have to find where they went."

James picked up the cover and threw it high into the air. He wasn't sad that they couldn't find their parents, he was mad that he had been outsmarted. "Let's go. Without anything left behind that'll be impossible," he said quietly."

They began to walk back to the ship when they received another interruption, a loud, metallic _clang._ Both of them spun around to see the metal cover rolling on the ground. "What now?" asked Christy with a sigh. They walked back over to where the cover had landed; it was close to the center of the dark patch. James picked up the cover and tossed it into the air again. When it landed he heard another _clang_.

"Do you have a metal detector?" he asked. Christy walked beside him and held out her wrist comp as she pushed several buttons. The comp almost instantly began to beep rapidly. She gave him a quick smile and dropped to her knees. He joined her and together they cleared away a thin layer of sand to show a large metal panel.

"Think there's anything underneath?" he asked as he leaned back.

Christy also leaned back. "There shouldn't be. The Synthan Spire is supposed to be made of solid rock. There may be some chambers inside, but it would take several years with the best drillers."

"Well then," he said as he rubbed his hands together excitedly, "let's crack this thing open and see what's inside."


	18. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Double Cross

With barely more than a _whoosh_, James dropped onto the tunnel floor and lowered to a crouch. He quickly took a single step and placed his back against a wall, which reached to a ceiling only a few inches above his head. The red rock was smooth. There was also a thin layer of moisture. _"There must be a water pipe system," _James thought. No doubt to keep the tunnels cool. Hot air dropped into the tunnel and more water settled onto the walls as Christy dropped after James. Together they reached back up and replaced the metal cover. Cool air quickly filled the space where the temperature had spiked just a moment ago. Clearly, someone had spent a lot of money and time building this makeshift hideout.

On one end of the tunnel was a bare wall, but the other opened up into a larger space.

"We'll need a map," James said looking at Christy.

Christy held up her comp and activated the sonic sonar device. In less than a second, sound was sent out and received by the wrist computer. After a few minutes of processing information, Christy was projecting a 3-D model of the base. There was a large chamber at the end of the tunnel they were sitting in, which held two smaller tunnels, one of which led to a long hallway and the other to a small room.

Christy touched the long hallway deeper down. "This is probably the prison." A soft orange light illuminated that area. "Best guess," she said as she touched the smaller room, "This is probably Scale's room. But there's no way that we can be certain."

"Let's go take a look." James placed one hand on his sword, just in case, and inched out of the tunnel.

The large chamber fell about four stories and was an almost perfect cylinder. A long ladder ran down the wall to the floor. At the very bottom, James could barely see a small, blue figure.

"It's mom!" he said excitedly. He instantly moved for the ladder.

"James, wait!" Christy tried to stop him, but she wasn't fast enough. James was already sliding down the ladder.

His feet touched and he sprinted over to his mother. She wasn't moving. "Mom, are you ok?" He lowered a hand to touch her shoulder. His hands passed right through her and hit the floor. "Oh crap." Christy touched down behind him. He turned. "GET BACK UP! IT'S A TRAP!"

"Too late." Both looked up at where the voice was coming from. Scale's face was lit up on the wall. "You aren't going to be saving anyone today. In fact, you're just in time to let your father witness your death." Another screen appeared and showed the entire Star Fox team in a row of jail cells.

James drew his sword. "Then get out here and let's rumble."

"Oh, I'm not going to be fighting you." A door opened in the wall. Max walked out. "He is."

"Max?" Christy gasped. "What happened to you?"

"I'm saving my parents. If that means killing you, then so be it." Max took out a long metal halberd. The blade was split down the middle and fixed at the center was what looked like a small energy emitter.

"Yes," Scales screamed. "Give them a slow, agonizing death."

Max ran forward, halberd drawn back. He swung as he got closer. James jumped over the blade and swung his sword, scratching Max's shoulder. Right after the move, Max looked up to see Christy with a pistol trained at his skull. "Please, Max," she pleaded. "We don't want to hurt you."

"Speak for yourself," James screamed as he charged. Max spun and blocked with his weapon's shaft. Then he twirled it and clubbed James over the head with the blunt end. James sprawled on the floor and Max leapt into the air, halberd held high. James barely had time to bring his sword up to stop the strike from splitting his head open. The two grappled, each one pushing with all of their strength. Max's weapon suddenly discharged a burst of energy, which flew up and blasted the two big screens apart. The images fazed out.

"Finally," Max said as he withdrew.

James, acting through the slight shock, pushed himself up into a back flip and came at Max again. Max stopped the attack with the shaft again, but this time swung his body and kicked James in the head. "What are you doing?" Max yelled as James fell onto the floor several yards away. "Game's over. They can't see us."

"What are you talking about?" James asked as he pushed himself up.

"I'm still with you. Our parents are in holding cells one level down."

"OK, you fought us to hide your cover," Christy interjected. "But that doesn't explain why you aren't killing us. Why not just kill us and get your parents free?"

"My father always said, 'If anyone's going to tan McCloud's hide, it's going to be me.'"

"So your father put you up to this?" James was still in disbelief.

"Yeah. If Star Fox doesn't get back, he loses his security deposit."

James shook his head. "I should have known it was about the money. Like father, like son."

"Whatever." Max ran over to the door next to where he had come from. "It won't be long before Scales sends some guards, so we should hurry." A door opened into a curving hallway.

Everyone quietly ran down. It curved downwards under the main arena. A single guard stood at the close end of the hall. Christy put one shot in its head, causing him to collapse on the floor. The entire Star Fox and Star Wolf teams ran up against the bars to see their kids run over to them.

Krystal immediately reached out and hugged her children, Fox and Falco gave their congratulations/thanks, and Wolf did the same for Max.

Being this close, James could actually see what Scales had done to them. All of them were covered in sores from the hot sun and numerous cuts and bruises. He clenched his fist. "Let's get them out."

Christy shot open the lock with her blaster and the doors swung open. Now they could all get a big group hug. Christy and James were both completely relieved now that they had finally saved their parents.

"You know, we aren't out of this yet," Wolf said. Everyone looked up and separated.

"You're right," Fox nodded. "How do we get out of here?"

"Follow me," Max said taking the lead out.

Scales arrived in the arena at the same time the group did. He took one look, saw that everyone was free, and nearly pissed his pants (well, he would have if he was wearing any). He managed to smile. "Nice job McCloud. You're lucky I was generous enough to have let O'Donnell live. But this is where we bid farewell." Scales lowered a hand to his belt and pressed a button on the center. His body instantly faded out.

James looked at Max. "Where's he gone?"

"Probably to his hanger. It's a few hundred feet below here. There's a service shaft leading there, but no ladder."

"That won't be a problem." James held up his communicator. "ROB, send me my board."

"Affirmative."

James's board appeared in a shimmer of light in front of him and he hopped on board, grabbing the accelerator before it fell. A door in the wall magically fell back. James was about to blast it when Christy jumped on. "I'm coming with you."

"James," Fox called. James looked back at him. "Good luck." Fox was saluting him!

Pride welled inside of James. "Alright. Let's rock." He mashed the accelerator and flipped the board over, sliding into the shaft while aiming straight down.

The dive was incredible. James didn't even have to touch the accelerator and they were falling at maximum velocity in a matter of seconds. Several columns criss-crossed the shaft, but James wove around them while Christy hung on for dear life. "Reminds you of back home, doesn't it?" she screamed over the wind.

James nodded. He was having the time of his life.

Just ahead, James saw the tunnel end. He quickly leveled up and the board stopped inches over the floor. He again mashed the accelerator and blasted through the door into the hangar. A single ship was just lifting off the ground and a set of doors was opening up into the hot sky. "Christy," James screamed back. "Bring it down."

Christy pulled out her blaster. With two precisely aimed shots, the craft's engines died and the ship fell back onto its landing gear. The kids ran up the rear of the ship and ripped off the hatch. Christy pointed her gun at the only person inside, Scales. "Out of the ship."

Scales dropped the controls and slowly walked out, growling the whole time.

James radioed his father. "James to Fox. We have Scales. Have ROB send down a transport."

"Nice work, James. You too Christy," Fox answered affectionately. "See you on the ship."

(Fifteen minutes later)

Scales was bound in a holding cell. Star Fox was watching him from the other side of a two-way mirror. Fox was shaking his head. "It's hard to believe he could come back and do all this."

"That's because he's not alone," James answered.

Fox and Krystal looked down at him. "What?" Christy also gave him a weird look.

"Think about it," James said. "Scales happens to be the only one who has access to the special ore needed for the light engines, yet he doesn't have the technology. So, he sends out money and gets researchers. If I'm correct, all of the major companies and research facilities are under contract with the Republican government."

"You can't be suggesting…" Krystal asked, finally understanding.

"Yes, I am."

(Lylat City)

The elevator stopped. The door opened and six guards ran into the lavish room. Couches were set along the wall and a solid wooden desk was sitting in the center. The soldiers fanned out around the desk and trained their guns on the back of the large office chair. The Star Fox and Star Wolf teams strolled in right after, Fox in the lead. "General Scarlet, you are under arrest for conspiring against the Lylat system."

The chair swiveled around. Scarlet was sitting lightly. "What? You think I would conspire against the very system I rule over? You must be mad."

James stepped forward. "Don't try to play dumb. Your buddy Scales told us everything. You give him a few planets and reap the benefits of selling light engine ore in the middle of a war. You even let Scales get a bonus by getting rid of Star Fox team. Isn't that right?"

Scarlet's face scrunched into a sneer. "Stay out, pup."

Fox pushed his son back. "We have proof as well as a testimony from Scales. You can't help yourself out of this one."

She was now ticked off. "I knew that lizard couldn't hold his own." A small pistol dropped from her sleeve into her hand, but only James saw it. "I never liked kids anyway." She pulled up the tiny gun and fired. The small bolt was flying right at Max's heart.

No one could react in time…save for James. Without thinking, he threw himself into the bolt. The force sent both James and Max into a pile.

Finally reacting, every guard fired their stun guns at Scarlet. She crumpled with barely a sound.

Krystal recovered first. She screamed and ran over to pull her son off of Max. She held him in her lap, tears streaming. She looked down at the wound. It had just missed his heart, but it was extremely deep. She pressed her hand against it, but couldn't stop the blood from flowing. If they didn't stop it, he would lose too much very quickly. "**JAMES!"**

Hearing the scream, Max finally recovered from the shock and realized what had happened. He pushed himself up and crawled over to James. James's eyes fluttered open. "Ouch." His voice was extremely weak.

"Don't talk," his mother said, still bawling.

"I don't understand," Max said softly. A few tears were going down his face now. "You risked yourself for me?"

James smiled. "Can't have a teammate die, now can we?" He held up a weak paw.

Max smiled and gripped it in return.

James turned his head. Christy was also crying hysterically. James offered her his other paw. She crouched down and took it.

James smiled again. His final words were almost unhearable. "Mission Accomplished." His eyes slowly closed.

Krystal screamed again and tried to wake him up. But she knew it was futile. He had lost too much blood. The two teams stood there as Krystal rocked the limp form of her son, tears falling from every face.

The hangar of the Great Fox I was packed. The entire Star Fox team, including Peppy and Slippy, Star Wolf, and all of the Republican delegates had come to pay their thanks and respects to the young warrior.

James's casket was a simply metal pod with a glass viewing pane. He was in his uniform, arms crossed over his chest, and holding his favored weapons: the long blades. On his chest were two shining, new crests: one of the Star Fox team, the other of Star Wolf. James had finally accomplished his dream. He was a Star Fox member.

Wolf and Fox had ended their rivalry. Although neither had actually said so, it was understood by both men. Fox's son giving his life for Wolf's made their fights seem inhumane towards James's memory.

Christy, standing next to a weeping Krystal, also wore the same crests. She slowly walked up to the casket and placed a cold paw on the glass. After a moment of silence, she moved back for the next man or woman. The entire group came forward, one at a time, to thank James for his duty.

Fox was last. He placed his hand over the pane as everyone else had done. "Thank you, son," he said in a voice audible by everyone. "You've shown me that there is hope for the galaxy, even after we are gone. You did very well." Held back tears began to fall from the father's green eyes. "I'm so proud of you." He stepped away after a few moments of silence.

The casket slid into the launch bay. This was the ceremonial "burial" for any great hero of Lylat. Fox, Wolf, and Falco all saluted as James's final vessel was propelled into the vacuum. All of the great ship's cannons fired a salute to the soldier.

The silver coffin, carrying the young, valiant hero, slowly drifted further away, into the darkest reaches of space.

**A/N: Wow. I was afraid for a time that this wouldn't get done. This chapter is actually a re-write of something HORRIBLE that went untouched for months. This took me more than a year to finish.**

**This was the first fanfic I ever started, but I think it is one of my best. So thanks to everyone for reading. I appreciate all of your patriotism and criticism.**

**Until next time, farewell my friends.**


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